I also play it, and rogue like is (I guess) the best way to describe it since it has a few of those elements. I actually don’t like likening it to Slay the Spire, though, as even with card modifiers and deck building, it’s still really like poker. I get a different satisfaction, and Slay the Spire is notably more exciting to me. Friends and I just call Balatro poker on crack.
But, it is indeed a roguelike in that you: restart every run every time you “die” (fail to earn enough chips for the round), earn permanent unlocks via achievements (like better multipliers for X by winning a run without using X), are at the mercy of RNG which make each run unique (shops and rewards for skipping blinds are random).
Deck building elements make it a card game genre too, like trying to remove cards or modding cards to improve odds of pulling what you want, building to a specific style (like making all your cards Clubs to take advantage of a joker that gives 8 mult per club). Yet at the end of the day you’re just trying to get flushes, straights, etc.; good if that’s your jam, but a little redundant after a while. I’m starting to lose interest after the 50th loss I’m a row at the higher difficulties on Abandoned Deck because of how punishing it gets.
I also play it, and rogue like is (I guess) the best way to describe it since it has a few of those elements. I actually don’t like likening it to Slay the Spire, though, as even with card modifiers and deck building, it’s still really like poker. I get a different satisfaction, and Slay the Spire is notably more exciting to me. Friends and I just call Balatro poker on crack.
But, it is indeed a roguelike in that you: restart every run every time you “die” (fail to earn enough chips for the round), earn permanent unlocks via achievements (like better multipliers for X by winning a run without using X), are at the mercy of RNG which make each run unique (shops and rewards for skipping blinds are random).
Deck building elements make it a card game genre too, like trying to remove cards or modding cards to improve odds of pulling what you want, building to a specific style (like making all your cards Clubs to take advantage of a joker that gives 8 mult per club). Yet at the end of the day you’re just trying to get flushes, straights, etc.; good if that’s your jam, but a little redundant after a while. I’m starting to lose interest after the 50th loss I’m a row at the higher difficulties on Abandoned Deck because of how punishing it gets.
Thank you for the detailed response! You gave me a good understanding of how the game feels.